Sibshops

The Arc of Northeastern Pennsylvania Advocacy Department is hosting SibShops in Lackawanna County. Katie Foley, Arc Advocate, has been trained extensively in the Sibshops Program and is also available to host/coordinate Sibshops throughout our 7 county area.

In 1978, Don Meyer was a graduate student of Special Education at the University of Washington. Energetic and kind, Don was a natural teacher to whom kids were immediately drawn. At UW, Don was challenged by a professor to consider the impact of a disability on family members who were not typically found in clinic waiting rooms: first fathers, then, eventually, grandparents and siblingsDon quickly learned there were considerable needs among these family members, but few supports to address them.

Please reach out to The Arc for more information.

The Sibling Support Project

In less than a decade, Sibshops flourished and grew not only in Seattle and Washington State, but across the U.S. Increasingly, parents and service providers recognized the importance of supporting young brothers and sisters, and reached out to learn more about how to do so through Sibshops. In 1990, Don created the Sibling Support Project, the first national program in the U.S. dedicated entirely to recognizing and promoting the important roles that siblings play in their families and communities, and to creating opportunities for brothers and sisters of all ages to receive the information and resources they need to support their families and themselves. The Sibling Support Project began at Seattle Children’s Hospital, which to this day offers outstanding Sibshops throughout the year. In 2006, the Sibling Support Project joined Kindering, Washington State’s largest neurodevelopmental and most comprehensive neurodevelopmental center.

What are Sibshops ?

For the adults who run them and for the agencies that sponsor them, Sibshops are evidence of their loving concern for the family member who will have the longest-lasting relationship with a person who has a disability. However, for the kids who attend them, Sibshops are lively, pedal-to-the-metal events where they will:

• Meet other sibs (usually for the first time);
• Have fun;
• Talk about the good and not-so-good parts of having a sib with special needs with others
  who “get it”;
• Play some great games;
• Explore how other brother and sisters handle sticky situations sometimes faced by brothers
  and sisters;
• Laugh
• Learn about the services their brothers and sister receive; and
• Have some more fun!

The Sibshop curriculum is used throughout the United States and Canada and in Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Argentina, Ecuador, Iceland, Ireland, England, Italy, Malta, Singapore, and Turkey.
www.siblingsupport.org

Click Here for more information on The National Organization

Click Here To Register for The Arc of NEPA's Sibshops